Guten Rutsch!! Happy New Year 2017!!!

“Guten Rutsch!”: what does this German wish really mean?

When your German friends wish you a “Guten Rutsch!”, “Einen Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!” or say “rutsch guet übere” (Swissgerman), they don’t want you to “slide” or “slip” (rutschen=to slide; (aus)rutschen= to slip). They simply wish you a smooth start into the New Year.

Can’t they just say “Gutes Neues Jahr”? Yes, they can and they do. But it’s common that we wish a “guten Rutsch” to each other.

Where does this expression come from? Is it somehow related to the fact that this time of the year people did “slide” into the snow (or on the ice)? 
Not really...I don't think it has anything to do with sliding on ice at all. It just means to slide smoothly into the new year...

Sonne, Mond und Sterne,

alles liegt in weiter Ferne,

doch das Gute ist ganz nah-

ein glückliches und schönes neues Jahr!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year...thank you for all the support reading my blog as well as coming to visit the Retreat and Basement Club. More to come in 2017!!!

Guten Rutsch dann mal!!!

Lutetia Parisiorum ( City of Love )

...was the ancient name of what we now call Paris. The Parisii were a Gallic tribe and that is how it all began, the city of romance and love.

The city has always been the place for artists, musicians, and scholars to flock to and today it is the lovers of the world who come and visit this great city.

When we think of Paris, we think of the Eiffel Tower. This has become the icon of Paris and is known by just about everybody. Named after Gustave Eiffel who designed this odd tower for the Universal Exposition. An iron tower erected smack in the heart of Paris was considered unacceptable, a stark contrast to the elegance and refined beauty of the city, but eventually the city loved it and is now the trademark.

You are lucky that the Eiffel Tower is only a teleport away in Second Life and you should really go see this place. The Eiffel tower is surrounded by 1900 style buildings of Paris, including the famous Notre Dame and if you dare want to go into the Moulin Rouge. It is all here, a beautiful place.

Of course, we were not dressed for the snowy Winter this time of the year, but even if you came in swimwear the romance of love will warm you up.

I have no idea what we were talking about, but who cares when you can kiss at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Even the pigeons are dancing, kissing, going in circles, mounting each other. Paris is the city of love, even for the birds. 

-Samantha Schutz

Come and visit soon...here is your teleport :)
EIFFEL TOWER

WTH???

Literally, what the hell? I come out of this state of boredom and I end up here? Then again, since I am already here, I might as well explore this place.
(thoughts to myself: I should have worn black instead)

One great thing in second life, you are in perfect shape and can perform all sorts of acrobatic moves. Like this one, just in case some weirdo may come in here. I am ready, lol!

Let's say this nicely, she was not selling popcorn at all for this show. In fact asked me if I wanted to see more for 100L per look.
WTH?

Exploring makes you extremely hungry, but I am not sure if I would want to eat here, there is a dead chicken hanging...ugh.

I had one small drink and next thing I felt totally distorted and dizzy. WTH?

At least it blurred out what was on this television. Trust me it was not HBO, more like an adult version of the sl-slease tv.
If you absolutely need to come here and check it out...here is your FREE taxi to Midnight Glory.

What is boredom?

I ask myself this many times. What is boredom? How do you know you are bored and where the heck does it come from?

If you remember the first time you logged into second life and how excited you were to find such an amazing place. Did you not spend hours and hours exploring and learning about this place? Yes of course you did!
Never did you felt bored. 

Why is unclear. Take depression: “One possibility is that boredom causes depression; another is that depression causes boredom; another is that they’re mutually causative; another is that boredom is an epiphenomenon or another component of depression; and another is that there’s another third variable that causes both boredom and depression,” explains Dr. John Eastwood, a clinical psychologist at York University in Toronto. “So we’re at the very beginning stages of trying to figure it out.”

I know I have to take this into my own hands and figure it out why we need to be constantly entertained by something. It is like a drug where we need another hit to remain at the same level of satisfaction.

This is actually my favorite quote:

“I’m bored’ is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless; it goes on forever, inwardly, do you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say ‘I’m bored.”

― Louis C.K.

So go out there...do stuff...read, explore, laugh or just relax. It is all good!!! You are breathing :) 

Merry Christmas!!!

First of all, I want to say thank you for all the beautiful cards we received this year for Christmas. I was able to hang some at the apartment.

I did a little tribute to George Michael today at the Basement Club; he also shares his heaven day with my mother in real life. I will play some of his music at the next set on Sunday.

Greg was the recipient of my own private set for him tonight. He was able to request some songs and I played them as we danced. 

The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world's busy life and become more interested in people than in things. Thomas S. Monson

I hope you listen with pure joy to your friends you have made here in second life. Hear them, feel them, were send to you for a reason. 
Merry Christmas from us to you :) 

Baby, it's cold outside!

The traditional Christmas season begins at sundown on 24th December and lasts through sundown on 5th January. For that reason, this season is also known as the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas.’ 

So tonight the weather outside was so cold and the snow was coming down hard. Nobody had to convince me to stay, oh wait a minute I live here and so does Greg...
In the original song " Baby, it's cold outside", the guy is trying to persuade the lady to stay the night. This was written in 1944, just as the war was ending.

I am glad we live in a time now where we can decide on our own if we are spending the night or not. However, the wolf is still trying to convince the ladies to stay. I think it is just the nature of the man to conquer the woman and charm her. 

Although, I must say the snow outside made it very easy to decide that we would stay in tonight. Who is seducing whom now? 

Here is a little tip guys: 

You want this woman and you have no idea how to go around it and start it. Attention is a woman's drug. You give a woman attention they will eat out of your hand. Genius, whoever thought of that.

The wolf has to pay attention to the interests of the lady, it is that simple. It is that easy. I cannot complain at all. I am perfectly happy to say:" Baby, it's cold outside let's stay here and well you know...light up the fireplace."

It was a beautiful Christmas Eve tonight, well spend at home with each other. Let the 12 days of Christmas begin.

Happy Holidays to all of you out there in Second Life, spend a little time at home and truly pay attention to each other, it always should be both ways.

The Retreat, a blogger's inspiration....

Oh, great news...another Blogger stopped by the Retreat and took some photographs there. I love it when people stop by.

The Blog is called My Fresh Trend and is a fashion blog, so go check it out and tell them Anjelikka send you.

I took a picture right here too and invite you to come and stop by and take pictures here. I may even open up a photo contest soon.

Holiday Wishes!!!

May your heart be filled with the joy of giving, as it is the expression of the love in your heart and the kindness in your soul.

It is a true blessing to have so many friends in Second Life and you have become family. We like to take this opportunity to thank you for your friendship, your laughter, your time and all the great things you do in Second Life. It brings us joy to Real Life.

Whatever Holiday you celebrate we wish that it will be peaceful and joyous. We hope all of your dreams and wishes come true this holiday season and that you see the same results throughout the coming new year.

If you didn't get a special gift and card from us, please please please tell us and we will send one to you.

XOXO

Anjelikka & Greg

Pixie Hunts Second Life

Thank you Pixie for coming to the Little Gift Hunt at the Retreat. I am so glad you enjoyed the place and the told others about all the FREE goodies they can get here.

Please do go and visit Pixie's Blog about hunts all over second life.

PIXIE HUNTS SECOND LIFE

Always an honor to be mentioned by another blogger. And talking about being mentioned...I am proud to say that the Retreat was mentioned and posted at the Winter Attractions in the Second Life Destinations...yeah!!!

Christmas waves a magic wand....

...over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

- Norman Vincent Peale

And so it was at the Basement Club this past weekend. Two wonderful and magical nights of Holiday cheers. If you missed it, I hope you will at least enjoy the pictures.

Saturday Night with DJ Heath and Cat:

They are are every Saturday Night from 6-8PM SLT and sometimes even stay longer. Why not come and enjoy the party. This is the upper part of the Basement Club!!! located at the beautiful Retreat. There is so much to see here. The seasons change, the Gallery always has new artists and you may also find hunts several times a year.

There is also a wedding chapel and some rentals. Stop by soon and explore the Retreat after the set.

Sunday Night with Likka and Annie:

This was set in a secret place just for this holiday party. Normally we are at the original Basement Club jamming the 80s music or having some kind of theme party. 

It was magical and ever so beautiful. Everybody dressed up in their most gorgeous clothes. We also had three winners in our contest. And yes, we know our contest may have been small compared to other clubs, but here you at least had a chance to win. There were other gifts that awaited the visitors as well. 

We absolutely adore the supporters of the Basement Club. They are the ones who keep this going and they are the ones who inspired me to create this place. We will have future parties in the Ballroom.

Holiday Parties at the Basement Club!!!

This will be a fabulous event with prizes and a contest for Best Formal wear...so come to the Basement Club and look for this poster, it will have a teleport to the secret location. You will love that place.

Sunday December 18, 2016

6-8 PM SLT

Also happening at the Basement Club Upstairs...use the teleport at the landing to go upstairs

Saturday, December 17, 2016

6-8 PM SLT

DJ Heath and Cat will host an elf party.

Dress up in your holiday clothes for some fun music.

The Arctic Express

"Hop on the train and relax with friends en route to the North Pole! You can also put on some skates, get some hot cocoa and enjoy the snow."

When you come here you will feel like you are on the train to the North Pole. It is a beautiful sim of Winter. The Arctic Express has several cars to explore. We settled in the Dining car for a romantic dinner for two.

It's a magical ride to the North Pole to visit Santa, or at least you can dream it here. Just believe!!! Miracles happen :)

How do you get rid of a hickey?

What?
You may wonder what is this all about. There we were just looking into each other's eyes as we always do and getting lost in the moments.

Totally innocent right? We were just dancing at home after the funny Greedy Night of " Viva Italia" and trying to settle ourselves to get ready for the night.

And then all of a sudden I see THIS:

I mean what is this? Look at his neck. OMG.

It's a hickey....a love bite or whatever you call it. I cannot believe I damaged the pixel blood vessels of his neck in a moment of some passion. Where is the Second Life coming to? Now we have to, of course,think about how we gonna get rid of this. Not like we can just put on some other skin.

The average hickey lasts about 5 to 7 days in real life, so I imagine that in Second Life it goes away a bit faster. I don't know. We never had to deal with this before. 
So, I googled on how to get rid of this just in case you ever have one of the love bites on your neck or perhaps other party parts.

1. Apply an icepack or cold spoon on the hickey as soon as possible after you get it. You can wrap some ice in a towel, use pre-frozen ice packs or put a spoon in the freezer for a few minutes. 

2.Apply a layer of toothpaste to the hickey. 

3.Apply heat to a hickey that lasts more than a couple days.

Who knew that some toothpaste could help for this? Wow!!!

Greedy Nights at Heath'

Not only do people laugh and I mean laugh here but they get all into dressing up for the themes each week. You never know what they show up in.
Every Thursday 6PM SLT to until we are tired....

Dance like no one is watching

And yes we do. 
There is an art to slow dance actually. I once read about it and it was an interesting article.

Position your arms. Correct arm position is vital for starting to slow dance properly. For the traditional slow dance position, the man should put his right hand on his partner's left hip side or on his partner's mid to upper back, and his left hand should gently grasp his partner's right hand and hold it up at about shoulder-level of the taller partner so that both partners' arms are bent upward from the elbow. You should stand about a foot to half a foot (30 - 15 cm) away from your partner, depending on the level of intimacy you want to create.

• The woman's left arm will generally be placed on her partner's shoulder. This is a traditional ballroom dancing position (as well as a safe junior high dancing position), and you should still be standing about a foot from your partner.
• If the two of you are in a romantic relationship, you can even get into a hug stance with the guy’s arms around the girl’s waist and the girl’s arms around the guy’s shoulders. This is also just a more common move for middle-school and even high-school dances because it's a bit easier to get into this position -- but it does make it a bit trickier for the guy to lead.
• Don't let your hands wander. Even in the event that your partner doesn't mind, it’s distracting for the other dancers and just not classy.

I am not sure who measures the distance between two people? Do you automatically know hey you are too close or get a little closer? Interesting indeed. I never thought about it, but I guess I bring a ruler with the metric system on it for the next time.

We absolutely adore dancing wherever we go, because who wouldn't want to be close to the one that means everything to you? Exactly my thoughts!

The wedding of Dresden and Brian

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon on this cold December day when Dresden and Brian came together and made their promises to each other.

MY TRUE LOVE

 ~ Sir Phillip Sydney ~

My true love hath my heart and I have his,

By just exchange one for another given

I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss,

There never was a better bargain driven

My true love hath my heart and I have his.

His heart in me keeps him and me in one,

My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides

He loves my heart, for once it was his own,

I cherish his because in me it bides

My true love hath my heart and I have his.

The Chapel at the Retreat slowly filled with guests and loved ones from around the grid.

Some guests decided to stay even after all the wedding goers left. The Retreat looks fabulous in Winter as well as all the seasons.

If you are planning a wedding or know someone who does want to get married and you are on a budget come and send me a message...you will love how low the fees are and how beautiful the wedding will be.
You can even have it for free.(Anjelikka)

The Chapel at the Retreat